(Images. Vogue, Nymag. All credit to Rick Owens)
Rick Owens is restless as a designer. A peak in creativity has been reached and he is trying to break through – to move forward, I see influences here for ready-to-wear 2017 that are as clear as day. Yes, the ceremonial aspect, but not the rigidity of mainstream religions. The ceremonies of divinity that is humanist in it’s appeal. Spiritually significant to the ambiguous. What do you think of that? A designer who holds a degree of power attempting to write a testament. This is a personal journey into the spiritual realm. Take that as you may. For me, it also oozes with the conceptual art of *Brian Pennington’s origination, whether it is a direct influence or not. The desire to emulate aesthetic and/or religious idealism from science fiction and it’s speculative conceptualization lies significantly in Frank Herbert’s ‘Dune’ book covers from the 1970s.
Is the collection groundbreaking? No. Significant in its idea, but not technicality a masterwork at all. Reworked looks that are layered via various clothing pieces bound together. Owens is also a master fitter, so in a design sense you would expect that the outfits to impeccably fit the models. So there is no criticism in its presentation, however it is the use of garments as head pieces. Sleeves that drape from the models headbands is distractive from the collection that works very well. This is shame. As the impact of an fictional observance is very attractive. So essentially there is a sloppiness to Owens’s RTW 2017 collection, being a fan of his perception and designer concepts. I have to be honest.
Rick Owens continued use of the Palais de Tokyo as a subterranean backdrop, maintains Owens’s temple and it’s arcane rumination which holds an impressive environment to showcase his women‘s RTW 2017 collection. Obviously attracted to the feeling of security within the encased structure. The venue is not a traditional fashion runway, spiral concrete and steel stair case which leads down to a reinforced area, held in place by pillars that carry the weight of the building above. Owens proclaim that he would like to move on from the negative styling, yet the surroundings hold the pre and post dystopian impression. For me, the concept of dystopia is not a negative. Thus, as mentioned, it is the beginnings of a spiritual interest after the tumultuous tipping point of humanity – this journey is a personal one
The Earthy color palette is maintained, noted from Spring/Summer 2017 collection, but for the ceremonial styled outfits the choice is more of the darker shades of the Earth such as camel, tan dark brown and ochre red as seen on the nylon bulbous styled top. And, as you would expect, there is the stalwart achromatic blacks and white overlaid with the neutrality of gray.
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*As reference please refer to Brian Pennington art below. Please note these are images are from the public domain. No copyright on reproduction.
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